November 2, 2014 - upstate
I put my 2 weeks in today
I just want to post my experience with target and see if its familiar with anyone else.
I have been at the store for about 3 months and have finally decided to put my 2 weeks in and go back to school in January. This was my first retail job and i decided to apply at target, all of my friends and girlfriend told me dont do retail because its the worst..i kinda figured that everybody hates their job and it cant be that bad..jobs suck why would retail be any different? I was wrong.
My past work experience was a cook at a pizza place while i was in school my first go round’. I learned to work hard and be a fast leaner and enjoyed working there for the most part.
My training at target was about a week and i felt fairly comfortable on my on, i was hired as an electronics team member and enjoyed trying to make sales and boost my AAR. I always have done well with AAR (i was the highest in the store my first week by a landslide), and did well with red cards. I am very good with guest and go above and beyond what is expected.
Ill cut to the chase and list reasons i liked working here and then reasons i am ending up quitting.
Pros
1. The discount. Its only 10% but if you couple that with the red card and if you can wait on stuff to go on sale as well as learn to check cartwheel you can really save some money.
2. People i worked with. There were a few i couldn’t stand but i got along with most (90%) of my employees. Everyone really seemed helpful, even until this day. The hardlines team really worked hard and if i ever needed someone to cover my break they would help me out. We really worked as a team (hardlines crew) and had each others backs. There are a lot of good people at the store i worked at and i will miss them most (other than the discount 😛 ). Since i worked as an electronics team member i had our Target Mobile rep to help me and chat during downtime. The lady and the younger guy were both fun to work with. The back room team members are funny and work hard. My TLs, GSTL, ETL and other LODs for the most part were hard working and would help you if you needed it.
3. “Sales”..even tho i didn’t make commission trying to boost sales and AAR in electronics seemed fun to me. I naturally enjoying helping people and selling things. It was a pride thing for me to have the top AAR, i never show boated or shoved it in peoples faces but I took pride in knowing i did a good job in that regard.
4. Schedule. Well…at least the fact that i knew what it would be like 2 weeks ahead of time. My previous job it was a one week advanced..small crew and it was hard to get a day off if i needed it. Shift swapping and picking up shifts was easy and fairly hassle free.
5. The regulars…those guest that come in pretty regularly. Most of them are nice and you get to know each other by name and its just a pleasant change of pace.
Cons.
1. the commute..this has nothing to do with target as a company but i lived about 40 mins away. So if i had to be at work at 8 i had to get up at 6..if i got off at 10:30 i would get home about 11:15 or so..
2. Scheduling..i got to where i pretty much worked 5 days a week even tho when i was hired i only asked for around 20-25 hours a week i ended up getting scheduled for around 35-39 on average. average shift was 230-1030..i just hated the hours. It changed my sleep patterns and it got to the point where i would sleep on my days off and couldn’t get anything done on my days off, i got depressed from the hours and would rather stay at home and sleep instead of spend time with family and friends.
3. “Clopen”..aka closing then opening the next day..pure BS..
4. Politics, if you dont kiss the right ass you wont get anywhere..it doesnt matter how hard you work and whatever you accomplish. What matters is how you can purse your lips.
5. Expectations/Under staffing. This right here is the main reason i would say. I totally “get it” but its still BS. When i first started working a few months ago I didnt notice, or else it has changed that fast. It seemed like more people were working and on the floor but over the past month we are always understaffed. I am sure this is because we need to save money and why pay 8 people when you can make 4 work twice as hard? The problem is in an 8 hour day i cant help guest, zone E. F. and seasonal..answer phone calls..do re-shop, pulls, take my breaks, ect ect..its A LOT to do. I am not putting down any other part of the store because i know it is very tough but it is borderline impossible to keep toys zoned. Kids and parents will pick up something and leave it god knows where. During the week it is not bad at all and can be done but on the weekend there is no way to do all of that..You can zone OVER children and adults..its rude and pointless. As soon as you put something up it will get knocked down. Every 5 minutes someone wants a game or presses one of those damn call buttons and you have 30 seconds to react to it.
6. The store team leader. What a b****. I have worked with her regularly and she still calls me by the wrong name even tho i have let her know nicely that its not right. She is very hard on everyone and very stressful. Her expectations are mind blowing and the thing thats worst of all is that she takes a vacation once a month..NOT EVEN LYING. Every month i have been there she has gone on a vacation. When i was hired the first week i was there i never met her because she was on vacation, last month she wasnt here for a week b/c of a vacation and this past week she was again..on vacation. Our sells have not met their mark and where is the store team leader? On vacation. If we cant “afford” to hire enough team members to get all we have to get done completed but the store team leader can go on vacation once a month, what sense does that make? And this isnt one of those things were us floor level peons complain about our boss..team leaders and LODs cant stand her either.
7. Politics, if you dont kiss the right ass you wont get anywhere..it doesnt matter how hard you work and whatever you accomplish. What matters is how you can purse your lips.
Well..thats all i can think of..any comments or questions and ill be sure to respond. Thanks for reading..
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As retail goes, you picked the worst company to work for.
What current retail company would you recommend? I have heard whole foods and Costco are the best 2..
That's what they say. There's a few others that are great too. The key is to avoid Target, CVS, and Walmart...in that order.
Joe fresh stand alone stores are nice too. 🙂 Amist the big uproar about opening on thanksgiving and opening way too early for black friday, only a few stores were open on thanksgiving. And those that did open closed at a reasonable hour in time for the employees to go home for thanksgiving dinner. Friday after thanksgiving was opening at regular hours at 9 am as well. 🙂 how's that for canada?
tarshit raped and pillaged many an employee's mind for sure, oh well, as long as those shareholders and big shots in Minnesota are making money, it's all good right
Congrats on getting out. I put my two weeks in this month as well. It felt amazing! Last Friday, 10/31, was my last day working for The Worst Company Ever. I've been sleeping better, stress-free, and enjoying my new freedom.